Director general says BBC needs to reach young audiences online amid pressure to leave Elon Musk-owned site

The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, has said he will not be taking the broadcaster off Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, saying that its presence is needed to resist a flood of global misinformation.

Davie said he had come under pressure to withdraw from the platform, given numerous complaints that it has shifted significantly to the right under Musk’s ownership.

Platform is now Britain’s fourth most visited social media site as users seek out human-generated content

Reddit, the online discussion platform, has overtaken TikTok as Britain’s fourth most visited social media service, as search algorithms and gen Z have dramatically transformed its prominence.

The platform has undergone huge growth over the last two years, with an 88% increase in the proportion of UK internet users it reaches. Three in five Brits online now encounter the site, up from a third in 2023, according to Ofcom.